Tag Archives: Michael W. Young

One important aspect of the internal time-keeping system continues to perplex scientists: its complex response to temperature, which can shift the clock forward or backward, but cannot change its 24-hour period. New experiments help explain how this is possible. More »

The prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the biomedical sciences and the advancement of health, and Young is being honored for his groundbreaking work on the molecular biology of circadian rhythms. Young’s work spans nearly three decades of research on the biological clocks that regulate our bodies’ patterns of sleep and wakefulness, metabolism and response to disease. More »

The Gairdner Foundation is recognizing Jeffrey V. Ravetch for his work demonstrating how our immune system can be both protective and harmful and Michael W. Young for his nearly three decades of research on circadian rhythms, the biological clocks that regulate our bodies’ patterns of sleep and wakefulness, metabolism and response to disease. The Gairdner, which is Canada’s highest scientific award, is considered among the top ten most prestigious international prizes in science. The scientists will each receive $100,000 from the Gairdner Foundation.

Research suggests that a newly identified gene known as insomniac is an important reason why we get drowsy and fall asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in fruit flies, Rockefeller University researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism by which sleep is regulated. More »

Michael W. Young, Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics at Rockefeller University, has received the 2009 Neuroscience Prize of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation for groundbreaking discoveries of the molecular mechanisms that control circadian rhythms in the nervous system. More »

Humans, and most other organisms, have 24-hour rhythms that are regulated by a precise molecular clock that ticks inside every cell. A new study by Rockefeller University researchers shows how two molecules interact to regulate this clock’s cycle and uncovers how that switch can go haywire, identifying a potential cause of heritable sleep disorders. More »

Circadian rhythms allow animals to align their bodies to the earth’s rotation. Now, new research shows that the same molecular clock that flies use to sync themselves to the sun’s patterns is what allows them to sync to temperature patterns, too. More »

By looking inside a single cell and following two different proteins over several hours, Rockefeller scientists have turned the old model of the cellular circadian clock on its head. When the two proteins come together, the scientists say, they create a six-hour timer that appears to tightly regulate the cell’s circadian rhythm. More »

Rockefeller University scientist Michael W. Young, who investigates the genetic pathways that enable the body’s biological clock to tick, will become Rockefeller University’s Vice President for Academic Affairs on March 1. More »

A newly discovered gene called double-time regulates the molecular cycles underlying circadian rhythms, scientists from The Rockefeller University report in two papers featured on the cover of the July 10 issue of Cell. The researchers also identified the molecular mechanism that allows this gene to work. More »

Light sets the circadian rhythm by eliminating a key protein needed for the molecular mechanism of the body’s clock, according to scientists in the March 22 Science. The findings, from fruit fly studies, may help explain light’s effect on the daily cycle that influences sleep, mental alertness, pain sensitivity and temperature and hormone levels. More »

The molecular control of the daily cycle known as circadian rhythm lies in the pairing of two proteins, scientists report in a trio of papers in the Nov. 3 Science. The findings, from fruit fly studies, promise to help scientists better understand human, animal and plant circadian rhythms, which influence cell and body biochemistry, health, aging and behavior. More »